A Flaw in Fate's Plan
by Demonic Reiki
Summary: When Kagome is pulled through the well on her sixteenth birthday she meets a one-eyed hag, an amorous monk, and an aristocratic assassin. So... Where's the hanyou we all know and love?


Disclaimer: We, Demonic Reiki and Murasaki Hikari, do not own the Inu-Yasha series in any way, shape or form, and do not financially profit from the writing of this fanfiction.

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A/N: This story IS duplicated on this site, and is on the account of my co-writer, Murasaki Hikari, and her link is posted in my author bio. (if this site wasn't so finicky about the use of their web site or other writer links in story documents, I would have provided them...)

We know it is there because it is our doing, so no need to warn us of stolen ideas/stories. We are curious to see if stats and review counts would change depending on the author's popularity. Read and enjoy the story!

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**Chapter 1**

_The Stage is Set_

What a day... There she was, on her way to school, and the family cat decided to go sniffing about the ancient well. Then _that_ thing showed up and hauled her off her feet to this place. She had gone running in the direction of her home, and got quite the surprise.

Kagome now sat uncertainly in the strange feudal era dwelling of the kind old woman who hadn't untied her until later that afternoon. The strangest part though was not the surroundings, hearing whispers of passerby discussing of their village miko housing a fox demon, nor knowing that the biggest building for miles was probably one story high. In fact, the strangest part was her room companion, whom she was left with as their hostess went to retrieve some ingredients for the stew she had in mind. Kaede was her name?

He was a nice looking young man, whose face would be considered an attractive one in her high school, and the odd attire of a traveling monk (themed purple) wasn't half bad either. She allowed herself to observe that much while his face was partially covered by his two-handed sipping of tea, then she looked away again and twiddled her fingers when he lowered the rough ceramic cup.

"So," he began anew, making her close her eyes and give a silent vexed sigh at his charming tone. Would he never stop it? "How did you happen by this place, Higurashi-sama?"

Not the expected question. She glanced at him, a small smile on his face which was very common in her school for adolescent boys, though he seemed to be about eighteen in age. Apparently he didn't have a proper social upbringing to avoid such blatant expressions.

It did light up his purple eyes rather nicely though...

She shook her head, took a drink, and replied. "I was dragged here, then tied up, then dragged here again, then cross-examined..." He blinked. She stroked her cup ever so slightly. "And it _wasn't_ very fun, either."

"No, no, that doesn't sound like a daily pastime," he replied with an innocent smile. "But you have to admit, it's hard not to cross-examine, let alone examine, such a fine young woman in the clothes you wear."

Kagome became very conscious of her short school skirt and tried to subtly tug it closer to her knees for quite possibly the thirtieth time that evening. Even in high school their uniforms were revealing.

"Not even religious discipline can help you, monk?" she questioned, very interested in the kettle on the fire where the pot would soon be.

"Please," he chuckled, sounding caught in an act. "Call me Miroku."

"Miroku..." Kagome said warily, testing the name on her tongue while keeping a close watch out of the corner of her eye. Not too common of a name.

"Yes, Higurashi-sama?" Miroku questioned while subtly making his way closer to the scantily clad girl.

"Miroku," Kagome repeated, this time in warning.

Sighing dramatically, Miroku sat directly beside Kagome, placing his tea cup on the ground before saying, "I do love to hear my name fall from your lips..."

A dark stain of red covered Kagome's cheeks. "What?"

"Kagome-sama," Miroku began, easily making the transition from last to first name while taking her cup from her fingers and setting it next to his own. Grasping the girl's now empty hands into his lager ones he looked directly into her confused gaze with a seriousness radiating from their depths. "Will you do me the honor of bearing my child?"

Silence.

"WHAT??" Kagome screeched while ineffectively pulling her hands away. "What is WRONG with you?? I'm only SIXTEEN!!"

"Ah, and it is truly a blessing for me that you are not already taken by someone else!"

"Gah!!"

"Am I interrupting something?" their elderly host asked, hunched over by her age more than the pot in her hand.

"NOPE!" Kagome practically cheered, glaring at the 'monk' before shooting up and taking the food from the woman and sitting down on the opposite side of the fire from the man once more. She glanced at him and he wiggled her tea cup at her. Not very nice... Patting the floor earned him another scowl of contempt.

"Now then," Kaede sighed, taking the pot from Kagome once she had set the kettle aside to cool on a rock, "to begin, I apologize to ye both for your unfavorable welcome to our village. It was rude of us to isolate ye, monk, in fear of a spy, and even more rude of us to bind and display ye, young lady."

"Kagome Higurashi," the young girl supplied, her mild irritation at Miroku lingering in her voice. It was easily taken for something else.

"Ah yes," Miroku sighed, looking up pensively with his hands tucked into opposing sleeves, "if I'm not mistaken I've wandered into the lower Western Lands, haven't I?"

"Aye," Kaede agreed, eying him. "That ye have. A land of war and mistrust now. 'Tis interesting that ye be so free in life as to wander so far with so little with you."

This statement seemed to somber Miroku up a bit, and a solemn look masked his face. "With my life devoted to my sacred rites, I can live my days with peace of mind as a traveling exorcist." Kaede gave Miroku an analytical look. "Of course, it is hard to perform one's duties when one's Shakujo is being retained."

While their hostess continued to give the monk that look, making him a little unnerved and opening one eye to watch her cautiously until she mentioned something about his item being in the next room, Kagome proposed her question.

"So," she began, the biggest fraud of a smile plastered to her face, "you thought we were spies?"

Now both Kaede and the monk gave her analytical stares.

"Did she hit her head?" he asked Kaede.

"I don't know," she replied, barely dropping her voice. She couldn't care less if the girl heard. The answer to that question was obvious.

"HEY!!" Kagome yelled. Miroku shot to his feet, but not of fear of the youngest in their midst.

"Demon," was his warning, darting outside. Kagome followed, Kaede went to the next room to fetch something. The girl looked up and scanned the star-less horizon for the beast, a rapid series of cracking explosions made them all look back, houses falling into plumes of dust. Even though they had to look backwards to witness the destruction, the demon responsible loomed before them, rearing her head and tearing off a slab of horse meat for her delight. She was monstrous.

"Demon!" Miroku yelled up to her, holding onto his covered hand. "What business do you have here?!"

Kaede returned, bow and arrow in hand and a very valuable looking staff in her other hand. The staff, or Shakujo, was tossed towards Miroku, who astonishingly caught it in his left hand without looking.

"The Jewel!" Mistress Centipede cried, all five remaining arms held up for an attack. "I _must_ have the Jewel!"

"Stay back, or you will leave me with no choice!" the monk yelled, the fabric over his out held palm held up by his fingers alone.

Kagome stared in horror at the female beast which had yelled something about a jewel at her. HER! What the HELL?? First the thing drags her down the well, scared her shitless with her tongue, and now she wants some 'jewel' she had? Well, if it was an item Kagome would have thrown it to her long ago, but if it was a rhetorical phrase... A violent shiver almost had her vomiting. GROSS.

"Don't tell me she means the Jewel of Four Souls!" Kaede almost pleaded to herself aloud.

Miroku spared them a glance, and in this moment the demoness struck, diving at the party and making everyone fall for the ground.

"The _what_?!" he demanded, shielding his eyes from the temporary dusty wind.

"The Jewel…" Mistress Centipede continued while circling the three fallen humans. "Give me the Sacred Jewel!"

"We don't have your stinking jewel!" Kagome shot back, hardly noticing the glowing sphere in her left side.

"It can't be…" Kaede said, staring in horror.

"Lies!!" the demon shouted while diving for Kagome, her arms out stretched. Her canines lengthened into deadly fangs while her mouth opened impossibly wide.

"Wind Tunnel!!" Miroku shouted while removing the beads on is right hand.

A sudden flurry of wind came from nowhere, a wild tempest created within a few seconds time. The storm was so strong that everything was being swept up into it, all going to the same destination.

"Huh?" Kagome questioned aloud, her mind in a haze as her hair flapped wildly around her. From her angle it looked as though all the debris from the wrecked homes, the animals that were loose and running around in a panic, even a portion of Mistress Centipede was sucked into the boys hand. "How is that even possible..?"

"You wretch!!" the demon cursed, clawing at the earth to escape the void, her midsection gone. From the corner of her eye she saw the glow of the Jewel, as well as the girl that housed it only an arms length away. Reaching out with one of her top arms, she snatched the girl's ankle and pulled her closer. "If I can't have the Jewel then no one can!!"

Kagome let out a high pitched scream as the demon abandoned her purchase on the ground to wrap all five limbs around her body. "This is beyond disgusting!!" she screeched, all too aware of the nude upper half of the demon as she was press against her chest.

Narrowing his eyes in effort, Miroku quickly placed his prayer beads back into position, only slightly disgusted by the two halves of Mistress Centipede that still remained. "Release her, demon!!"

A sinister chuckle passed through the demons gaping mouth. "I think not, young monk… It has been too long since I feasted on the flesh of a priestess!"

Nudity forgotten, Kagome began to struggle against the clingy demon, placing her hands flat against her stomach. "Let go of me!!" she screamed while pushing with all her strength.

A soft pink glow emitted between Kagome's hands and the flesh of the centipede. In a sudden burst of light and energy, Mistress Centipede was forcefully pushed away, the very skin of her body burning away while her grasping arms were torn off.

The demoness screamed in pain while her stunted lower body flailed around like a headless snake not too far away. "You little canicula! You bitch!"

Two rectangular pieces of paper were suddenly flung at and stuck to the demon's forehead and chest and she screamed at the pain of purification.

"Demon be gone!" Miroku shouted while bringing down the head of his golden staff to her own, effectively killing her.

Kagome stared in wonder as the centipede turned to ash before her eyes, only to be blown away by the wind. "Wow."

"Now then," he stated nonchalantly, wrapped hand now at his side while his left comfortably held his traveling weapon. Was this an every day thing for him? "I believe there are some important matters to discuss over dinner."

Rather than the gaping hole in the young man's hand which consumed everything, it was this 'jewel' business that was brought up. And oddly enough, that business centered around Kagome.

'Wish I was this popular at school,' she thought in the only second of silence she had while taking a bite of stew. Jewel this, Jewel that, it all seemed so focused, and these two strangers knew perfectly well what this Shikon no Tama was that her grandfather sold by the thousands in various colors, and what made things worse was their seriousness towards the subject.

"Alright," Kagome finally sighed, setting her crude bowl down. "I'm done here. Where's the nearest pay phone so I can call a cab to take me to Tokyo?"

Those words not only silenced them, but seemed to blow right over their heads. Like breath passing over once-lit, smoking candles.

"What?" Miroku asked, still baffled.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I get it now! No need to keep me here anymore. I'm leaving this studio and am going to find the director and demand an actress payment for the hours you've kept me here on your spoof show. I've missed a whole day of school because of you guys too!"

They blinked. She walked outside. The 'dead' horse to her right still looked and smelled quite real. Even the flies loved its gapping wound. "Nice prop..."

Marching along the road she vaguely remembered being hauled over a shoulder down, bound and gagged to boot, Kagome went to the odd 'door' which she came in by and wondered how they linked their well to the one in her shrine. She didn't know that CGI effects could be done during filming.

'I sorta feel bad,' she thought to herself, still stomping off and past Mistress Centipede's further segmented lower body. Two men were taking a saw to the remainders while a distinct trail of something heavy being dragged ran further down the road. 'I mean, they obviously put quite a bit of money into this thing. The actors, the 'demons', the fight, the stage props. Even the _atmosphere_ is great here! Was this actually filmed outside? No, it couldn't be, there's no natural expanse like this anywhere near my home in Tokyo, and I hadn't been knocked out in the well. This has to be a studio room hidden nearby, which would explain the provided electricity for those lights over that nearby forest, even though it's suppose to be night, and-' She stopped her train of thought when her eyes alighted on the glowing sky of the forest yonder. She decided that's where she would find the director, and began to climb the grassy hill. It was still a good distance to her right, but she wanted to be on the hill side and get a good view rather than on the road below.

On the way over she heard the 'villagers' heave with an apparently heavy burden and Kagome peered through the woods. They were throwing centipede costume parts into her way out. 'Lovely... I came out of their storage closet...'

Dismissing them and supposing there was a better exit, like a door, she continued on her way through the sparse woods and decided she was where the director's office should have been.

There was an impeccable replication of the Tree of Ages which graced the entrance of the shrine grounds she lived on. That was funny... She was looking at the backside of it, and examined it for the notch in which her grandfather had secured his sacred string thingy to the front. Old fraud. At least they could live comfortably from his income. It wasn't there. The tree wasn't a perfect replica. Actually, it was shorter. Was there a ceiling not too far above?

"Hello?" she asked, not liking how meek her voice sounded and didn't echo in the vast room. "Hello! Who's here? I need to talk to the jerk who supports free employment!"

There was no answer. Of course not, who would answer to THAT, considering their job was on the line. She was confused, but with a frown stepped to the other side of the tree, glancing to either side.

"Fine then," she humphed, taking two steps back and, crawling up the roots until she found a comfortable spot, sat on the tree. "I guess I'll just wait for him right here..."

She leaned her head back with a vexed sigh, then opened her eyes.

An unconscious boy was looking blindly down at her.

"AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE!!"

Kagome leaped to her feet, fell onto her ass, and scooted back until her shoulder blades pressed fabric before hitting a firm resistance. She looked up in her squat down position, and seeing another staring face that could pass for a mask (it had to be a mask. No one could paint such perfect strips and a moon on their skin). She frowned and jabbed a finger at him. "YOU!!"

This took the being off guard immediately, and he scowled at her ever so faintly.

"Are you in charge here?" she demanded, hauling herself to her feet and brushing off, resuming the finger pointing. How childish.

"Indeed," he answered simply, already having a decently sized list for why to remove her arm in segments, starting with the infernal finger.

"Good," she replied with a smile, retrieving her hand and crossing her arms, perking up her breasts. His scowl turned to one of disgust. Who, or _what_, was this being? She certainly smelled human...

"Where's my money?"

There was a pause, and not deeming her worthy of hearing his voice again he waited for her to ask the question once more, perhaps re-phrasing it in a way that would add to that quickly growing list in his mind.

Rephrasing, however, was not on her agenda. Good.

"_Well_??" she demanded, now holding out her hand. What did she make of him, really?

"How _dare_ you, you _**wretched**_ human WENCH!!"

Kagome looked around in anger, then peered down when a two headed staff bobbed with emphasis out from behind the richly clad man she was addressing. She followed the stick down. And down. And down.

"What the hell?" she muttered in bewilderment as a small walking toad waddled to her, staring at her as though his mightily squish-able self had all the power to bring her to her knees pleading for mercy.

"How DARE you refer to Lord Sessh-"

Kagome kicked him. "_Now_ you have ROBOTS?!"

The little demon went tumbling, rather bewildered, away. Okay, her death list became a little shorter. But what on earth was a 'robot'? If a robot, in her mind, was another word for a mindless and meaningless servant, than she was very acute in her observations.

He held her gaze, which blazed against the golden ice of his own eyes, and she seemed to heat from that fire within as her face slowly turned red.

Then she did the most absurd of things. She turned on her heel and stormed off, muttering about an address and a front door and a filing of a law suite... What a strange being...

"Humph!" the toad scoffed, fingering his staff as though he had wished to use it earlier, a crude shoe outlined with dirt on his face. "What a nasty little human. If I had half the chance my lord, I surely would have-"

"Jaken, be quiet."

The toad regrettably did, and Kagome found herself stopped dead moments before scraping her nose against an armor breast plate. She looked up at the man, looked back to where the toad was looking miserable, then back to the man.

"Okay," she began, stepping back once for some personal space. "I don't know _how_ you did that, but it doesn't make me in any kinder of a mood to spare you from losing all that you have!"

Oh yes. She would be a fun one to kill.

"You should wipe that smile off your face!" she scorned, surprising him that she actually saw it. "I don't care how important you are, or how much money you have, or how much influence you wield in the workings of things around here, you are _nothing_ that I can't deal with, do you understand me?"

He was so lividly captured by this being pleading for death that he didn't notice she had been pulled away, a male's hand placed over her shoulder.

Sesshomaru, High Demon Lord of the Western Lands, strongest entity to be found in that region of Japan, looked up to see what male dared to draw away his most favored victim of the year.

That man happened to be Miroku, who spun Kagome back to Kaede and braced his hand, palm facing the new demon.

"Not to offend or make the first move," he began, giving the dog demon a leveled look, "but I can't let you kill the keeper of the Shikon no Tama."

This definitely caught Sesshomaru's attention, along with recalling how the human before him had dealt with a certain minor demoness earlier that evening. A hole in his hand? Not the answer to the riddle he was still traveling to unravel though.

And so, without further ado, he exposed the neon green whip which extended from his fingers, and then stopped when a piece of information clicked.

It was, in a way, pleasing that the human wench yelped in fear when he used his extraordinary speed to place himself before her, the monk staring confused for a second at where his foe had been.

"What is your name," he demanded of Kagome, raising his fingers to her throat so she could feel the radiating heat of what would be her death. Usually he was against harming dumb animals, but he could make an exception. Just this once.

Kagome, however, made a comment on the rudeness of jabbing fingers, and when she slapped his hand away it... burned. Why did it burn? In fact, his hand had a slight tendril of steam radiate off his skin before his demonic powers healed the wound. Wait a second...

Her death list was now long enough to fall on her head and kill her with weight alone. If she wasn't in his face while completely disregarding his person and status, she was slapping, scowling, yelling, AND purifying him! Forget the death list, he was using his bare hands on this being.

Kagome was shocked when the silver haired man's eyes flashed red, and a sudden gust pulled her out of the way of slicing claws just in time. However, her skirt and hair became a little lopsided...

"RUN!" Miroku yelled, shoving her out of his hands and on her way. The toad demon robot thing then tried to stand in her way, propping up that staff for some odd reason, but she got some football practice with punting him out of bounds and racing for the men she saw working at the well. They would help her, right?? Red, glaring eyes flashed in her mind. Yeah, right. They're probably all as reliable as the 'monk'. Worthless man.

So, how about the old woman?

Kagome stopped so quickly that her foot skidded forward on the springs moist leaves from the prior fall, and over her fast falling head was a flash of green like five fireflies pretending to be jet performers.

She felt the air leave her lungs as she landed on her back, and immediately over her there stood the man she had been yelling at, his eyes normal, for the most part, but his hand glowing green.

"Die."

She screamed and lifted her hands, a warmth flowing suddenly through her body, and she saw the white garbed figure leap away.

As it leaped back though, another series of glowing fireflies, purple this time and much more in numbers, assailed his upper torso and neck. Sesshomaru batted at the essences, but his hand hit nothing and a beaded necklace appeared around his throat. Then he recognized what it was.

"Kagome, order something!" both Miroku and Kaede yelled.

Order something? She was on her death bed of rotting vegetation and they wanted her to order something?!

Sesshomaru seemed immensely focused on slitting her throat though, and as it clenched in fear she squeaked a solitary word.

"STAY!!"

Kagome, guessing that she wasn't dead by the rushing blood in her ears and heavy pants, opened her winced her eyes.

Not a foot away from her face Sesshomaru's own stared at her, seething in rage but with a glint of fear in his eyes, hungering for the sight of her blood. And then she noticed that if she gulped she would have scraped her skin on his nails as they remained frozen over her neck.

"Holy GOD!" she gasped, shifting to make sure she hadn't wet herself. "I DEMAND money for this fucking stunt, you psychotic bastard!!"

A very frantic Miroku and Kaede and toad came rushing forward, the first two each grabbing one of Kagome's upper arms and shifting her sideways from under the demon's killing pose and to her feet. The third jumped around frantically, and Kagome grabbed that wooden staff of his and hit his head with it to straighten out his circuits.

Kagome was now resolved to make her way for the well, finding her need to be there completely done since her lawyer could collect the money, when a flare of something that made her toes curl and her stomach churn had her scream the word 'stay' five times.

She looked down, and hadn't even thought he moved, but Sesshomaru had shifted to one knee, looking ready to attack, and he glared intently at her.

The girl fainted.

Miroku, seeing the demon subdued very unwillingly but well enough to suppress his power, knelt down to examine Kagome's condition and addressed lady Kaede. "How long do you think that command will hold?"

Kaede gave the demon lord a judging look, then replied with "ten minutes, at the very most."

Sesshomaru was so angry that his finger twitched along with an eye before the powerful spell made him prisoner to his own body once more.

"Make that five," the woman corrected.

"That will do," Miroku stated, taking a blank rectangular sheet of paper from his sleeve, along with a small box and black ink stone. He spat with little reserve onto the stone, opened the box which concealed a calligraphy brush, and dipping it into the ink he created a very rarely used sutra. Charging it, he placed the paper to Sesshomaru's sleeve. Then, seeing that that might not work, Sesshomaru found himself as abused with sutras as the underside of an elementary school desk is with ABC gum, including one over his deathly staring eyes.

"Alright," Miroku chirped, proud of his work. "How is Kagome-sama fairing?"

"She'll be fine," Kaede informed, currently fanning the flustered young girl off with some blank sutra papers of her own. She watched as, with each passing of the holy papers, a faint pink glow emanated from the lower left side of the girl's abdomen. "She'll be fine."

Miroku turned quickly when a weary whimper reached his ears, and he looked down to see the toad coming to. Kneeling, he ripped a corner off of one of the sutras binding Sesshomaru, and placed it on the toads head. The little demon went limp again and the scrap of paper began to steam ever so slightly.

'Such a weak demon,' Miroku commented to himself.

About five minutes after the demons were mostly subdued, Sesshomaru shaking with rage under his mountain of papers, Kagome blinked her eyes open.

"Stay," she ordered automatically. The command combined with the sutras made a static current ripple over Sesshomaru, and everyone flinched at the growl that resulted.

"How are ye fairing, child?" Kaede asked kindly while looking closely at the girl's eyes to see if they were focused correctly.

"I'm okay, I think..." Kagome replied, placing a hand to her neck to check for blood. When she found none, she sighed in relief. It quickly turned to anger, however, when she noticed the person that tried to kill her. "You really tried to kill me, didn't you?" she accused while regaining her feet.

Had Sesshomaru's eyes not been covered by a sutra, everyone would have seen him roll them in exasperation. Was the woman truly _that_ stupid?

"Lady Kagome seems to be just fine," Miroku stated while inconspicuously placing himself beside her.

A sudden squeak emitted from Kagome's throat and she spun with an open hand, hitting the monk squarely on his cheek. "You _pervert_!! I should sue you for sexual harassment!!"

Rubbing his sore cheek lightly, Miroku sighed in contentment. "It was worth it..." he said lightly.

Kagome noticed the hand print she had given him grow darker but couldn't really find any happiness in it as the reality of her situation came crashing down on her.

"Oh gods..." Kagome all but whimpered. "This is real, isn't it?" she questioned Miroku and Kaede, wishing more then anything that someone would pop out and say 'Ha ha! You fell for it!' Of course, said person would get the shit beat out of them, but that was a small price to pay.

"Aye, child. It is," Kaede said gently, comforting her for the wrong reasons.

"Oh gods..." Kagome repeated. Swiftly turning to the white haired man she now knew to be a _real_ demon, she quickly went up to him, removed the sutra from his eyes, and groveled. "I am _so_ sorry for the things I said to you. I really had no idea that this wasn't some elaborate joke..."

Sesshomaru growled loudly at the proximity of the female and would have bitten her. If only he could move the few inches he needed...

"Then again, you _did_ try to kill me so I think that makes us even!" Kagome finished before removing more of the sutras from his person.

"Lady Kagome! Stop!!" Miroku shouted in a panic while making his way towards her.

"Why?" she asked innocently. "With this puppy around his neck he won't be able to do anything. Besides, I kinda feel bad..."

"Save your pity, priestess," Sesshomaru bit out curtly once the sutra from his neck was removed, allowing him speech.

"Don't get stingy with me, mister, or I'll just leave you out here!" Kagome retorted, continuing to remove the paper nonetheless. "Besides, we're both civil people despite our earlier demonstration. I'm sure we can come to an understanding."

Sesshomaru scoffed scathingly. "You presume much of this Sesshomaru, human."

Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Can't at least _pretend_ to be nice to me?"

"No."

Kagome sighed heavily while continuously removing paper. "Hey, Miroku? How many of these things did you use anyway?"

"A lot..." Miroku answered dejectedly, watching as Kaede ushered everyone back to the village where it would be safer. A part of him wanted to join them...

"So," Kagome began to cover the silence, "What's that short green thing that's with you? Is it real?"

"Once these sutra's are removed from this Sesshomaru-"

"And what's with you talking in third person?" Kagome asked, truly curious. "Is it a demon thing?"

Sesshomaru growled darkly at her interruption. So much for the girl's idea of being 'civil'. "Human-"

"I have a name you know," Kagome interrupted once more. "It's Kagome. "Ka-go-me."

"Wench!" Sesshomaru exclaimed before a sutra was slapped over his mouth.

"If you can't say anything nice, then shut the hell up," Kagome muttered darkly.

"Lady Kagome," Miroku said hesitantly.

"What? If he's not going to treat me nicely then I'll return the favor!" she proclaimed.

"I've already apologized. What more do you want?"

'Your death...' Sesshomaru thought darkly.

"I was simply going to suggest that you keep a sutra on each of his wrists," Miroku continued.

Pausing from her collection of holy paper, Kagome turned a curious gaze on the monk. "Why's that?"

Clearing his throat, Miroku took two of the sutra's from her, wetting the ink with his tongue and making a quick mark on each, recharged them and then slapped one onto each of Sesshomaru's wrists. "Because this demon is able to use poison. It would benefit us to seal that ability in case you should not be able to say the word of subjugation in time."

Nodding slightly before resuming her task, Kagome said, "Thanks Miroku. I wouldn't have thought of that."

'And damn the monk for opening his foul mouth...'

As Kagome pinched the last unneeded sutra restraining his body, which happened to be over his mouth, she hissed the first letter of Sesshomaru's new command as warning, slowly peeling the paper off. It felt like it had invisible duct tape holding it there, and she wondered if it felt like that for a demon. Maybe, his mouth seemed a little pink, but that could have been from her slapping it on in the first place.

It was off, and she looked at the golden orbs as the demon lord stood to his full height, looking down at her now.

She couldn't help a gulp.

"L-L-Lord S-Sesshomaru," Jaken panted, the corner of paper having been removed from his head.

"Jaken," the demon lord replied especially sharply. "Carry out your original orders."

The toad demon stumbled off in search of something, but whatever it was Kagome didn't see the little... thing... for the rest of the night.

"Alright," Kagome began, surprised that her voice wasn't shaking like a wind chime. Sesshomaru was free. He wanted to kill her. She was four feet away. What was wrong with her common sense? "I propose a truce. On my part I will avoid saying 'stay' to you, so long as you try to not kill me or have me killed. Deal?"

He glared at her.

"Okay then!" she chirped, taking back her proffered hand. "I call that mild look of contempt an agreement! Shall we then?"

She walked off towards Kaede's on miraculously functioning legs, not realizing that she had just given Sesshomaru his subjugation command.

The demon had refused to come into the village, despite Kagome's reassurance that he had been offered his own room with a fire and a bed and everything. He had just turned away though, and disappeared, but only from sight. She now stared starving at her food, yet too distracted to eat.

"Eat, child," Kaede chided, tapping the bowl closer with the stirring spoon. "The steam has gone."

The girl made no move for the food. Miroku dismissed himself for the night, now done with placing sutras on every support beam of the house and commenting on figuring things out when the morning had light to it. It really was early. Kaede cleaned up the remains of food, pouring Kagome's bowl back into the pot. The fifteen year old girl confided in the woman once the curtain to Miroku's dwelling for the evening had stilled.

"Can I go home?" she asked, surprisingly meek compared to earlier.

"If your family can protect themselves from a demon, then aye, off with ye," Kaede offered.

Kagome shifted. "Um... Am I supposed to ... Feel him?"

Kaede gave her a neutral look of mild inquiry.

"Well, as in, be able to say he's right there?" Kagome clarified, pointing east of the village, her finger moving slightly as he continued to prowl the parameters.

Kaede nodded. "Aye. 'Tis normal for a miko to sense a demon."

Kagome scoffed. "Wish I sensed it before firing off my mouth..."

The topic of the conversation knocked on the door of her mind just then.

"Wait, a miko? MIKO?? What?!"

Kaede watched as the girl fell to sit sideways, legs tucked close at one side but not under her.

"Oh, by everything holy, what's the date today? What are you people talking about? I _did_ fall down a rabbit hole, didn't I? That's no well, it's a lie. A mean, cruel, deceitful _**lie**_!"

Kaede, having no means by which to console the girl, took the pot and bowls to go offer the rest to the villagers. She opened the door flap to see that the villagers weren't too far away.

Kagome listened by the door as words such as 'silver haired demon', 'mysterious monk' and 'untrustworthy child' wafted to her hearing. The small palate in the back corner looked very welcoming and cheering at that moment...

She took off her shoes, hoping a curious villager wouldn't make off with them, and tucked into the 'bed' for the night. It was only slightly less firm than the actual wooden floor, and the large, familiar body imprint which pressed the wool of the mattress made her feel even more out of place. She felt alone. More alone than anyone should. She had no friends there, no family, and couldn't very well return to her friends and family. There was just an indifferent village elderly woman, a lecherous monk, and a death wish due East. Kagome drew the blanket over her face, hearing the villagers follow Kaede with their questions away from the small establishment.

The questions to accompany her isolation were of no help either. What was she doing there? Why was this happening? Demons? Mikos? The past? How was she getting home? What would happen? Would she die tomorrow? Tonight? The wind howled across the corner of the home and she curled up into a tight ball in her borrowed bed. This was a living nightmare...

* * *

A/N: How did everyone like it? Chapter two will clarify all the questions we left hanging here, and if anyone asks a question in a review we didn't think of we will try and work the answer into the story! Please review!


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